Every day, Dr. Matt Larsen sees the devastating effects of suicide. In his five years working as a psychiatrist at the Behavioral Health Center (BHC) at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, he treated patients every day who had attempted suicide. Now he does the same in his outpatient clinic, and his daily appointment schedule is consistently, sadly, full.

An Idaho native, Dr. Larsen returned to his home state after finishing medical school and earning his degree in psychiatry. In addition to entering professional practice, he started volunteering with Community Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing suicide in southeast Idaho.

After several years of hard work, advocacy and outreach, Dr. Larsen was discouraged that suicide rates in Idaho continued to surge upward. In 2022, 444 Idahoans died by suicide – a rate of 22.2 per 100,000 people. Even more alarming, the state’s suicide rate increased by 11.9% between 2021 and 2022 alone. Dr. Larsen decided to find out why.

A first-of-its-kind study

While extensive data exists about survivors of suicide attempts, very little is known about those who die by suicide. To address this gap, Dr. Larsen and his research team – Dr. Cassandra Sauther, Dr. Ryan Sauther, and Justin Solomon – developed a new study approach.

“Most suicide research focuses on survivors,” explains Dr. Larsen. “But we needed to understand more about those who didn’t survive. That meant talking to their families.”

The team created a comprehensive 77-question survey covering everything from demographics and employment to mental health, substance use, and access to lethal means. For three months, they gathered information from families who had lost loved ones to suicide in Southeast Idaho.

Some of their results were surprising. Read the medical journal here.

Challenging common assumptions

“Our study shows that nearly 80% of those who died (of suicide) never announced their intentions.”

“Everyone has a picture in their mind of who is typically at risk for suicide,” said Dr. Larsen. “You probably think of lonely, isolated teens with mental health or substance abuse issues. But in our study results, the group most likely to die by suicide was white middle-aged men.”

Specifically, the study revealed that those who died by suicide in Southeast Idaho were:

• Predominantly white (95%) and male (77%)
• Usually had no previous mental health hospitalization (76%)
• Had ready access to firearms (66%)
• Did not alert others or seek help (79%)
• Had previously attempted suicide (55%)
• Were experiencing relationship stress (55%) or legal issues (54%)

A new direction for prevention

“These findings suggest we need to shift our prevention strategy a bit,” Dr. Larsen notes. “While we must continue supporting those who express suicidal thoughts, we can’t focus exclusively on that group. Our study shows that nearly 80% of those who died never announced their intentions.”

Another significant finding concerns access to lethal means, particularly firearms. While securing firearms didn’t prevent all suicide attempts, it did lead 22% of people to choose less lethal methods. This is crucial because 82.5% of firearm attempts are fatal, compared to just 1.5% of overdose attempts.

“Therefore,” says Dr. Larsen, “if we can reduce the number of firearm attempts, we should be able to reduce the number of deaths, even if they still attempt suicide by other means.”

Practical applications

The key is recognizing risk factors and reaching out before crisis points. The research points to several practical steps for suicide prevention:

1. Increased awareness among lawyers, law enforcement, and medical professionals who interact with white males facing relationship or legal challenges.
2. Community education about recognizing risk factors, particularly during periods of personal crisis.
3. Focus on safe storage and reduced access to firearms during high-risk periods.
4. Enhanced support systems for individuals going through relationship changes or legal difficulties.

“We don’t really need a new law or new regulations. Instead, we need to get this information to lawyers, judges, law enforcement officers and doctors – the professionals most likely to interact with white men who are struggling with legal or relationship issues.”

Community awareness can help too.

“Be aware of the professional family man down the street who is going through a divorce or has other major legal or financial issues,” advises Dr. Larsen. “Guys, if you have a friend who is going through a rough patch, take him out, ask him how he’s doing.

“If he’s struggling, offer to hold on to his gun or ammo for a while. I know that can be an awkward conversation to have. But if you tell them that you are really worried for their safety and that it would help you sleep better if you knew their gun was safely locked away, then they’re more likely to say OK.”

Moving forward: a new study for the whole state

Because the suicide rate in Idaho as whole has increased by 43.2% over the past 20 years, Dr. Larsen is conducting a new, statewide study. Using lessons learned from the first study, his team has trimmed the questionnaire down from 77 to just 20 questions.

He hopes to get a larger study group and is looking for participants. If they feel comfortable doing so, friends and loved ones (18 years or older) of someone who died by suicide in the state of Idaho are invited to fill out the questionnaire.

If you or someone you know is struggling, resources are available:

IDAHO FALLS – Abraham Lincoln said goodbye to his friend for the last time as they left the meeting that afternoon.

It was Friday, April 14, 1865. America’s 16th president was 42 days into his second term and would be shot later that night while attending a play with his wife at Ford’s Theatre.

It had been two years since Lincoln had signed the bill that made Idaho a territory. His friend, William Wallace, whom he’d appointed its governor, declined an invitation to accompany him to the theater that night before they parted ways.

RELATED | Abraham Lincoln’s influence creating Idaho to be celebrated at Idaho Day

David Leroy — a Lincoln historian who spoke at the Museum of Idaho Wednesday night in celebration of the state’s creation on March 4, 1863 — says Lincoln’s fate might have been different had Wallace decided to attend.

“Maybe he would’ve prevented the assassination,” Leroy tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Lincoln’s ties to the state’s beginnings and his friendship with Wallace is one of numerous connections to Idaho. Though Lincoln never set foot in the Gem State, he actively lobbied for its creation and almost became its governor at one point, though indirectly.

During Wednesday night’s event, Leroy suggested Lincoln developed the “idea of Idaho” throughout his life and left a massive footprint that many Idahoans don’t know about.

Lincoln’s ideas of Idaho

Lincoln’s first connection to Idaho dates back to his youth on the American Frontier.

“He was a farmer’s son, a rail splitter, a man of the soil … in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois,” Leroy told Wednesday night’s crowd. “He was also a merchant, understanding commerce and its interaction with farming.”

At age 19, Leroy said Lincoln also saw the “abhorrence of slavery.” On a river boat trip to Mississippi and Louisiana, he saw black men and women being auctioned on a city block.

These experiences shaped Lincoln’s world view and resemble values that are important to Idahoans today.

Lincoln’s connection to Idaho became more recognizable years later when Lincoln was first elected to Congress in 1847. The Oregon Territory — which included parts of present-day Idaho, Montana, and Washington — was created the following year after months of heated debate.

“The House of Representatives fought for months (over Oregon’s creation),” Leroy said. “It was contentious because the southern senators wanted to allow the possibility that Oregon Territory could have slaves.”

Lincoln opposed slavery.

President Zachary Taylor, a fellow Whig Party member who sided with Lincoln on the slavery issue, was elected that same year and offered Lincoln a job as the territory’s first governor. Lincoln declined.

“He went home and proudly suggested to Mary (his wife) that he had a singular opportunity to move out West. She said, ‘No way. We’re not going out there,’” Leroy told the crowd. “Think of that! Lincoln could’ve been our governor!”

The debate about slavery in the western territories of the United States continued for years, and came to a head in 1861 when the country was propelled into Civil War. Lincoln publicly expressed his opposition to slavery in a speech printed in the New York Tribune in 1858. His views were so well expressed, Leroy said, that it led to his election as president in 1860 and the creation of Idaho three years later.

Although history records that the Civil War ended in 1865, Leroy believes “Lincoln won the war in 1862 … with the idea of Idaho.”

He cites multiple bills he signed that year as an example. Among them was the Territorial Abolition Act, which abolished slavery in all federal territories of the United States. He also signed the Pacific Railroad Act, authorizing the construction of the transcontinental railroad. This law, Leroy said, connected free states across the country and promoted equal opportunity for everyone.

Lincoln signed the bill that created the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which Leroy said “recognized the importance of farming and what farming would be” in Idaho and the western territories.

That same year, Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which promoted westward settlement and development of the American frontier. It allowed American citizens to claim land to live on and farm. More than 60,000 Idahoans benefitted from this law.

Another bill, the Morrill Land Grant College Act, gave states federal land to build colleges that taught agriculture. This bill resulted in the founding of the University of Idaho in 1889.

RELATED | Remembering Idaho’s founding fathers and the controversial debate in the road to statehood

Idaho’s creation

But Lincoln didn’t just sign bills that aligned with Idaho values. He actively lobbied for its creation.

On March 3, 1863, Leroy says Lincoln stayed up all night urging Congress to vote in favor of Idaho becoming a territory.

“The bill was due to expire at midnight on March 3, 1863. Lincoln remained at the capitol in the President’s Room off the floor of the Senate and helped lobby it through the Senate and the House,” Leroy says. “He stayed in the capitol building until it was … on the roll.”

Around 4 a.m. the next morning, Lincoln likely approached the legislation with a sense of satisfaction as he read these words.

RELATED | Local group commemorating Idaho’s 160th anniversary with annual celebration

“Providing that slavery is prohibited in said territory, by act of Congress…,” the bill said, according to Leroy.

With the stroke of a pen, Lincoln then signed the bill into law.

Lincoln’s friendship with Gov. Wallace

Lincoln’s friendship with William Wallace is one of the most noteworthy connections to Idaho.

In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Leroy says the two met around 1840 when Wallace was a young attorney in Indiana. Both men were members of the Whig Party and Wallace introduced Lincoln —- then an Illinois state legislator —- who was speaking at a rally for presidential candidate William Henry Harrison.

“Wallace introduced Lincoln in a friendly, jocular way. Their senses of humor connected and over the years, they stayed in touch,” says Leroy.

Wallace later moved to Iowa, where he served as Speaker of the House in the state legislature. After an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senator, he moved to Washington Territory and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Through letters, Lincoln and Wallace often discussed the politics of the day, including when Lincoln entered the presidential race in 1860.

“When Lincoln was elected, Wallace went to Washington, D.C. to lobby for selection to territorial positions appointed by the president. He was successful,” Leroy explains.

Lincoln appointed Wallace governor of Washington Territory in 1861.

At that time, Washington extended from the Pacific Ocean to modern day Montana and Wyoming. The land that makes up Idaho today was under Wallace’s jurisdiction as governor. Realizing the large size of the geographic area, he became an advocate for breaking it up and Idaho was created on March 4, 1863.

Wallace met with Lincoln the day he was shot to talk about filling a vacancy on the Idaho Supreme Court and in the U.S. Marshal’s Office.

“They talked for a bit, talked about Idaho, talked about the need for these specific offices — and then Lincoln said, ‘Old Idaho, come back on Monday and you shall have the appointments as you wish them,’” Leroy said at Wednesday’s event.

Old Idaho was the nickname Lincoln gave Wallace.

Wallace declined the invitation to attend the play because his wife was sick.

Around 10:20 p.m., a bullet to the back of Lincoln’s head at point-blank range rendered him unconscious. He died the next morning at a boarding house across the street.

“I wonder, at some point during the play, with the Idaho appointments due on Monday being fresh in his mind, whether Lincoln thought just a bit about the idea of Idaho?” Leroy said on Wednesday.

Lincoln may have visited Idaho had he lived

Prior to his visit with Wallace, Leroy said Lincoln took a carriage ride along the Potomac River with his wife. The ending of the Civil War days earlier weighed heavily on his mind and the possibility of a peaceful second term delighted him.

“When we finish the term, I’d like to travel,” Lincoln said, according to Leroy.

Walking the streets where Jesus walked in Jerusalem and going to California after the completion of the transcontinental railroad are two places Lincoln mentioned.

“I theorize that had he made it to California, he may well have come to visit (Idaho),” said Leroy.

The following is a news release from the City of Idaho Falls.

IDAHO FALLS – The Idaho Falls Zoo is now accepting applications from teens who are looking for a wonderful educational experience while giving back to the community as part of the 2025 Junior Zoo Crew.

The Junior Zoo Crew offers a specially designed summer educational program for teens aged 14 to 17. The program also helps boost participants’ resumes and college applications by providing experience in public speaking, animal care, conservation, zoo careers, and education within a zoo setting.

Participating teens will assist animal keepers in the Children’s Zoo, staff information stations throughout the zoo, answer questions from zoo guests and help with special events.

Applications for the Junior Zoo Crew program are now available here. There are three, three-week sessions available and applicants can select one session to apply for. Specific dates can be found on the zoo’s website.

The deadline to apply to the Junior Zoo Crew is April 1 at 4 p.m.

For those accepted into the program, there is an education program fee of $72 for Tautphaus Park Zoological Society members and $90 for non-members. The fee covers training, materials, one uniform shirt, a name tag, recognition items and an appreciation party at the end of the season.

For questions about the program, requests for accommodations to participate or assistance with submitting the application digitally, contact Kathryn Farley, Volunteer Coordinator, at (208) 612-8453 or kfarley@idahofallszoo.org.